


your seams have come unknitted

by eccentrick



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Angst, Canonical Character Death, Character Study, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship/Love, Gen, Link (Legend of Zelda) Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Selectively Mute Link (Legend of Zelda), Survivor Guilt, fic where their souls are with link as well as their abilites, i mean the champion's are dead in this, it's just their souls, this is gen but ship to your heart's content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:21:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26919532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eccentrick/pseuds/eccentrick
Summary: The forest is teeming with so much life it is hard to see where this evil has wrought its hatred. The trees are tall and sturdy, the birds take turns singing, the forest floor scattered with vegetation and the fluttering of small creatures.But, before long, seeds of destruction begin to grow fruit in the buildings laid to waste, some taken clean off their foundations. There is not another human in sight, save but the old man, and everything begins to take a tinge of emptiness, a feel of the surreal. Link counts his fingers again and again, falls asleep alone and wakes up alone again and again.This is real, and he is meant to fix it.--A fic where the Champion's souls are with Link.
Relationships: Daruk & Link & Mipha & Revali & Urbosa & Zelda (Legend of Zelda), Daruk & Link (Legend of Zelda), Link & Mipha (Legend of Zelda), Link & Revali (Legend of Zelda), Link & Urbosa (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 152





	your seams have come unknitted

**Author's Note:**

> So...I really shouldn't be posting this, since I wrote and edited it within two hours. There are bound to be mistakes and inconsistencies, as it's very experimental and I haven't played botw since I finished it months ago, but I'm just happy to be creating again. And I want to test the fandom waters since I'm planning a big AU, if anyone is interested. I'm not sure if it will ever see the light of day, but here's hoping. 
> 
> The title is lyrics from Rockrose and the Thistle by The Amazing Devil. It's more of a romantic song, but I repurposed it. 
> 
> Hope you guys all enjoy! Comments and kudos are like shots of dopamine straight into my brain.
> 
> my tumblr is now @ ecccentrick. Feel free to hmu!

He wakes up alone. Or, at least, he thinks he is. 

A voice tells him he is Link, the Hero, that he must save everyone from a great evil bent on destruction. The voice comes from a far distant light, bright enough to leave black dots in his visions, but he can’t look away. He just stares. 

No part of him -- Hero, Link or otherwise -- questions the voice. Something deep inside him, deep within the chasm that is his sense of self, knows they speak the truth, and bears the brunt of humanity on his shoulders. The weight feels familiar on his shoulders, and he no longer tries to shrug it off like a shroud.

\--

The forest is teeming with so much life it is hard to see where this evil has wrought its hatred. The trees are tall and sturdy, the birds take turns singing, the forest floor is scattered with vegetation and the fluttering of small creatures. 

But, before long, seeds of destruction begin to grow fruit in the buildings laid to waste, some taken clean off their foundations. There is not another human in sight, save but the old man, and everything begins to take a tinge of emptiness, a feel of the surreal. Link counts his fingers again and again, falls asleep alone and wakes up alone again and again. 

This is real, and he is meant to fix it. 

\--

The old man, now revealed as king, tells him of her, and of himself, the knight Link. The Princess, forced to wage a battle a hundred years long, awaiting his awakening, hoping for liberation. 

Waiting for him to fix his mistake, his failure. 

This truth knits itself into his sense of self, his very being. It’s probably the only thing he truly knows about himself. 

He cannot fail again.   
\-- 

Link seeks information about the Divine Beasts from Impa in Kakariko village. He searches the old woman’s face, subtracting wrinkles and the shadows of trauma and battle, but he can’t recognize anything about her, not even his own face reflected in her shrewd eyes. 

She insists that he stay the night before setting off to look for his objectives. He only relents because he knows he is unlikely to sleep in an actual bed again in his lifetime, so he rests his century old bones and tries to at least rest his eyes. The Hero sleeps fitfully. 

Impa tries to get him to stay a little longer and recover some of his strength, but he can’t linger like a ghost. Paya and all the other villagers look at him like he is the answer to their every question, like the happy ending to their story, and he can’t bring himself to bask in their attention. 

He is not saving them. Link is simply redeeming himself, repaying them for their suffering. 

He has a lot to answer to when he finally faces Calamity Ganon in battle. 

\--

The first night away from Kakariko village is cold despite the summer breeze. 

\--

He goes to Zora’s Domain first. Link isn’t sure what compels him. There is just a deep feeling in his gut that he will know a bit more about himself there. 

Link almost wishes he didn’t.

\--

Mipha’s soul, whether an echo of the real thing or the last tangible piece of her left, is a balm to his battered heart. It might be due to her ability that knits together every wound and brings him from the brink of death more times than he can count. It might be the love she felt for Link in life. It’s better not to question it. 

It makes him feel like a gentle ripple in a shallow pool, small but nonetheless important. Despite her infinity for water, he feels warmth encircle his heart, soothing his battered heart. Instead of attempting to make him okay, she accepts that he’s not and is there anyway. She doesn’t try to fix that part of him.

Link is unsure if he was ever in love with Mipha, but he learns that who he was before cared for her. And the fierceness of her love for him should be scary to him, should make him flinch away, but her simple steadfast adoration makes him question whether he is truly undeserving of a second chance. 

\--

The Rito are next. 

A thread once again guides him there, along with his Sheikah Slate, and he at once despises the sharp, cold winds that whip and catch at his clothes like needy claws. Vah Medoh casts a shadow over him, and fans a competitive spirit in him.

_I’m coming_ , he thinks as he glares up at the beast. Something glimmers on its surface as though staring back. _Challenge accepted._

The battle, in the end, is anticlimactic. Revali would scoff if he ever spoke that aloud, but a small smile makes its way onto his face regardless. 

As Revali fades before his eyes, his gift given, Link’s chest is fit to burst. Where Mipha is soft with steel underneath, Revali is much like the wind currents of his skies, volatile and welcoming in turn. With what little memories he has of Revali, it’s fitting that his soul would be the one to carve away its own place within him, a redecorating of sorts. He snorts. 

Rubbing at his chest, Link sets out to Vah Naboris.

\--

If having another soul within was a snug fit, having two is like coming apart at the seams. Not to mention that it quickly becomes obvious that they don’t get along. 

They both have their own way of communicating. Mipha is there in his mind whenever it feels as though everything is too much, comforting him, a back and forth of their minds like the sea brushing the shore. 

Revali, in contrast, only comes forward when he’s needed, and not a moment longer, unless it’s to taunt him into doing better. Mipha, a calm sea, turns into a great wave when this happens, smashing and washing Revali’s disdain away. 

Wind and sea bicker, but when Link can no longer go on, and Mipha’s Grace is depleted, Revali’s Gale is there to buffet her still waters, until she is strong enough to bring Link back.

\--

Link doesn’t think he’s going to make it. 

Vah Naboris and her blight are strong and relentless, and there are quite a few times where Link lays there, feels like his soul is the only one residing within his chest, and almost accepts his fate. But, then, his comrades are there, Mipha’s strong will healing him and Revali’s bitter rage reeling him back into the present.

It’s more than worth it in the end. Urbosa’s soul is like basking in the sun, fully knowing that later he will have a sunburn, but too lulled by the warmth of the sun and so grateful for its rays, he lets it. But unlike the sun, who looks down on its subjects with apathy, burning sinners and saints alike, Urbosa’s is anything but complacent. She shines benevolently on those she protects and boils the blood of her enemies. He’d hate to be on the receiving end of that. 

Urbosa is more active than both Revali and Mipha. She’s Link’s sentinel, always there in the corner of his mind, ready to defend her people. Link is grateful to be counted as one. 

But still, with her greatness comes sorrow. Every thought of Princess Zelda brings an ache to his heart that he has trouble distinguishing between him and Urbosa. 

\--

He faces Vah Darunia with the greatest hesitation. This might be due to the sweat that plasters his hair to his face and his clothes to his skin, even with his protective gear, or perhaps because this was it. The final thing standing in his way of facing Calamity Ganon. 

The sight of fire, the hint of searing to his skin makes his jumpy and ready to crawl out of his skin. Something about the sensations brings back the desperation he hasn’t felt since his first night in the forest, alone and confused. The others are quiet in his chest, even Revali’s usual mocking air gone. 

Link makes silly mistakes that entire battle, his vision suddenly engulfed by yellow at strange intervals, his scars tingling and his heart racing. But, in the end, they defeat it, all of them quivering with exhaustion after the final blow is dealt. 

Daruk’s very soul feels like a bear hug. He’s solid and safe and never mocking nor worrying. He is unshakeable ground underneath Link’s feet and he can’t contain himself.

He cries for the first time in one hundred years. 

He finally feels whole.


End file.
